Wallace was a Petty Officer with 800 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm and served on board HMS Ark Royal.
On 13 June 1940 15 Skuas from 800 and 803 Squadrons were launched from HMS ark Royal. Their target was the German Scharnhorst, which was holed up in a Norwegian fjord. The Skuas were supoposed to have had an escort of Blenheim fighters but these failed to show up. As a result when they apporached the target area at Trongheimsfjorden they were met by a large number of German fighters.
Heavily laden with 500lb bombs the Skua pilots were unable to take avoiding action and eight Skuas were shot down. Of the seven survivors that reached the Scharnhorst only one bomb hit the ship and that failed to explode. Wallace was among those that were lost on this operation.
Skua 6G 800 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm
Midshipman L H Gallagher, Pilot
Petty Officer Wallace Crawford, Wop/Air Gunner
Petty Officer Wallace Crawford is buried at the Stadsbygd Churchyard, Norway.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Fledgling Eagles by Chris Shores.
